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During the final decade of his life Canaletto had a new rival – Francesco Guardi (1712–1793) – who was to outlive him by 25 years and to provide a glorious final chapter in the history of Venetian view painting. By the 1770s Guardi was considered something of an authority on Canaletto’s work and throughout his career showed a willingness to borrow his compositions. Yet, as juxtapositions in the final section of the exhibition demonstrate, Guardi’s concerns were very different from those expressed by Canaletto. View painters prized topographical accuracy in their work. A tool they may have used to construct their views is the camera obscura—an optical device that helped painters project, invert, and trace the buildings and vistas of Venice. Two 18th-century examples of the camera obscura will be on view, providing an opportunity for visitors to learn more about this scientific tool.

Old Master & British Paintings: Evening Sale. Sotheby's, London. December 3, 2014, pp. 50, 52, fig. 2 (color), under no. 11. J. G. Links. Views of Venice by Canaletto, Engraved by Antonio Visentini. New York, 1971, pp. 4, 46, 48, 70, states that the Harvey series was dispersed in 1957.

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Canaletto's early works remain his most coveted and, according to many authorities, his best. One of his early pieces is The Stonemason's Yard (c. 1725, the National Gallery, London) which depicts a humble working area of the city. It is regarded one of his finest works and was presented by Sir George Beaumont in 1823 and 1828. W. G. Constable. Canaletto: Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697–1768. Ed. J. G. Links. 2nd ed., reissued with supplement and additional plates. Oxford, 1989, vol. 1, pl. 11; vol. 2, p. 188, no. 2. Canaletto was inspired by the Roman vedutista Giovanni Paolo Pannini, and started painting the daily life of the city and its people. Only circumstantial evidence supports dating for the Harvey series. They all presumably were completed before 1742, the date of publication of the second edition of the Prospectus Magni Canalis. The rather stronger coloring and less blond tonality of the Harvey paintings as compared, for instance, with the originals of the first fourteen etchings, published in 1735, suggest a date a few years later than this, perhaps soon after 1735, though doubtless the execution of so large a series must have been spread over a certain period of time. Constable believed they were painted in two batches, those of the Grand Canal in 1731–32, and those of the churches and campi in about 1735. The exhibition is curated by Charles Beddington, a leading specialist on Canaletto. It is coordinated at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, by David Alan Brown, curator of Italian and Spanish paintings.

Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals' presents the finest view paintings of one of the world’s most enthralling and beautiful cities. As well as celebrating the great works of Canaletto, one of the best-loved artists in Britain, the exhibition highlights the exceptional achievements of his now less well-known rivals and associates. Following his return to Venice in 1719 Canaletto, having been inspired by the Roman vedutista (an Italian tradition of art involving often large, highly detailed paintings of cityscapes) Giovanni Paolo Pannini, started painting the daily life of the city and its people. These were the first of the topographical paintings ( veduta) on which he built his reputation. Once resettled in Venice, Canaletto had studied under a cityscape painter, Luca Carlevaris. Soon surpassing his master's modest talents, Canaletto produced his first known signed work, an Architectural Capriccio dated 1723. Two years later, the painter Alessandro Marchesini, who was also the buyer for the Lucchese art collector Stefano Conti, had arrived in Venice with the aim of purchasing two Venetian views by Carlevaris but was directed instead towards Canaletto who, as his agent informed him, was "like Carlevaris" but with "the sun shining."

Everett Fahy in The Wrightsman Pictures. Ed. Everett Fahy. New York, 2005, pp. 61–64, no. 16, ill. (color), notes that the Marlborough provenance of the Harvey series has been confirmed by John Harris (as relayed to him by Francis Russell in May 2000), who discovered an inventory of the pictures at Langley from the 1890s stating that five views of Venice in the drawing room "and others by Canaletto were bought with the house from the Duke of Marlborough in 1788. In an old inventory they are described as 'twenty views in fine frames'". Alongside the exhibition we have an audio guide which allows visitors to hear more about Canaletto’s stunning artworks. If you are interested, please ask a member of staff who will be happy to help you.

Antonio Canaletto; Antonio Visentini (1971). Views of Venice: By Canaletto. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-22705-4.Bernardo Bellotto, also known as "Canaletto" in Germany and Poland, was Canaletto's nephew and pupil [24] However, while visitors to Venice today are a world away from the Grand Tourists of the 18th century, Canaletto's influence has endured. A rite of passage for mainly young, aristocratic English men, this extended journey through Europe and beyond was designed to provide an education in classical learning and foster independence. Venice’s reputation as a place of pleasure, with gambling houses and opportunities for drinking and partying, was another reason behind the city’s appeal. Andrea Kirsh and Rustin S. Levenson. Seeing Through Paintings: Physical Examination in Art Historical Studies. New Haven, 2000, p. 262.